WWF WrestleMania X-7

WrestleMania X-7 came during a very interesting time for the WWF, as they had finally outgunned and sunk rival WCW (outright buying it in the process), and effectively ended the Monday Night Wars. With all this taking place just weeks before WrestleMania, and over 60,000 fans set to pack the AstroDome in Houston for the pay per view, anticipation was high – X-7 becoming the most commercially successful WrestleMania to that point.

Though they didn’t know it at the time, WrestleMania X-7 also came to be known as the finale of the Attitude Era. With WCW finished, the business as a whole started to decline, and the WWF’s product began gradually shifting away from the racy Attitude towards the modern product – this WrestleMania the last true supercard of the era.

With the end of the era also came the end of my wrestling obsession. While many outside factors played in (when you’re sixteen, cars and girls start trumping wrestling), the mishandling of the forthcoming ‘Invasion’ angle left such a bad taste in my mouth, I lost interest in the product over the course of the year – only casually following  from then on.

From Houston, Texas; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Paul Heyman – in front of a massive crowd. Throughout the year, observers openly doubted whether or not they would be able to pack the AstroDome (many anticipating a repeat of ten years prior), and seeing it full was a huge validation after living through the downturn of mid-90s. This is also the debut of the gigantic entrance sets – which I loved at the time, but have grown thoroughly sick of since.


Opening WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Chris Jericho v William Regal: Regal was the WWF Commissioner at this point, with Jericho a frequent antagonist. Regal starts firing off closed fists right away, but Jericho retaliates with chops, and hits a diving forearm. Spinheel kick puts Regal on the outside, so Jericho follows with a plancha, and slams him into the rail for good measure. Flying backelbow gets two on the way back in, and a pinfall reversal sequences ends in Chris going for the Walls of Jericho - but Regal raking the eyes, and tossing him into the ringpost. Another trip to get his point across, and Regal works the shoulder - Jericho selling wonderfully both in expression and execution. He tries a desperation Lionsault to turn the tide, but Regal lifts the knees, and cradles him for two. Suplex gets two, so Regal exposes the top turnbuckle to bash Jericho's shoulder into. Chris with a pair of enzuigiri’s, and a 2^nd rope flying dropkick gets two. Blind charge misses, however - leaving Jericho slumped on the turnbuckle - Regal brining him down with a butterfly superplex for two. Regal Stretch, but Jericho makes the ropes, and starts firing off chops (making sure to let the dead arm hang limp), and bashes Regal into the exposed buckle to set up a bulldog. Suplex, and the Lionsault finish at 7:08. The ending was kinda out of nowhere, but it absolutely worked (Jericho's shoulder was too badly injured for the Walls (which they established earlier), and the shot into the exposed buckle allowed him to weaken Regal enough for the move he missed earlier) and didn't hurt an otherwise well paced, psychologically sound match. Good opener. *** ½

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Tazz and The Acolytes v Right to Censor: The RTC try to jump them on the way in, and Faarooq starts with Bull Buchanan officially. Faarooq with a quick powerslam, and he tags Tazz in for a head-and-arm suplex - but he walks into a big boot. Tag to Val Venis with a Russian legsweep for two, and Goodfather tags in to help cut the ring in half, but he misses a Vaderbomb, and Bradshaw gets the tag. Six-way brawl doesn't take long to break out from there, and the Clothesline from Hell finishes Goodfather at 3:53. Short and energetic - exactly what it needed to be. ¼*

WWF Hardcore Title Triple Threat Match: Raven v Kane v The Big Show: Raven tries jumping Kane before Show even starts his entrance, but gets his ass handed to him, and press slammed onto Show as he arrives at ringside. Kane follows with a flying clothesline out after them, and they waste no time spilling into the crowd. They take a tour of a good part of the stadium before ending up backstage - Raven getting rammed through a wall and Kane slammed onto a wooden crate. Show locks Raven in an oversized broom closet to try and finish him without interruption, but Kane rips the door off of its hinges to rejoin the party. Raven flies through the window of a random backstage office, while the giant's both try to chokeslam each other - ending up crashing through another wall. Kane and Raven end up getting into golf carts, but Raven wipes his out, and nearly gets run over by Kane in the process. All three brawl back into the arena, and Show tries to press slam Raven off of the stage - only to get shoved by Kane through the side stage, and he then dives after him with a flying legdrop (the referee hilariously counting the fall by tapping on the side of the destroyed stage) at 9:18. Maybe a bit too long, but creative and fun, with some great bumps from Raven. *

WWF European Title Match: Test v Eddie Guerrero: Big slugfest goes Test's way with a flapjack, and a powerbomb gets a quick two count. Press slam into the corner gets two, and a bodyslam allows him to go to the top rope, so Eddie rushes to rana him off - only for Test to hang onto the ropes, and let him drop. He follows with a flying backelbow for two, but misses a blind charge - getting his leg tangled in the ropes in the process. And then stuck there, as he's legitimately caught. Eddie keeps it going by helping the referee pull him free, and he works the knee. Sleeper, but Test won't quit, and powers into a tilt-a-whirl slam for two. Tilt-a-whirl powerbomb gets two, but another blind charge misses (thankfully, steering clear of the ropes this time), and Eddie blows him low for two. Vertical suplex sets up a Swanton bomb, but Test dodges, and powerslams him for two. Big boot nearly cracks Eddie's jaw, but Dean Malenko pulls Test out to break up the count at two. The distraction allows Eddie to wallop him with the title belt, however, and Guerrero gets the pin at 8:07. Fell apart a bit after the rope spot, but nice back-and-forth action otherwise, Test looking great, and Eddie making him look great - taking and selling his power offense well. ** ¼

Chris Benoit v Kurt Angle: Big staredown to start - Benoit giving him a creepy cold, killer stare. They go right to the mat for a reversal filled stalemate - leaving legitimate Olympian Angle shocked. Another reversal sequence goes to a stalemate, as does a third - but Benoit nearly manages to hook the Crippler Crossface the fourth time out, forcing Angle to go to the ropes. He bails to regroup, but gets caught in it again on the way back in, so this time he fires off a clothesline to do away with the polite breaks, and dumps Benoit to the floor in frustration. Kurt follows with whip him into the steps, and a suplex on the way back in gets two. Side suplex gets two, so Benoit starts fighting back with a brutal series of chops - only to walk into a belly-to-belly suplex from Angle. Another, but a slugfest goes Benoit's way with a kneelift, and a backelbow gets two. Snap suplex for two, and a super-duperplex for two - as Paul Heyman starts making Dynamite Kid comparisons. Rolling German suplexes, but Angle counters the third into an Anklelock - sending Benoit for the rope break. Kurt drags it back to center ring before he can snag them, however, so Benoit reaches into his pit, and reverses the hold - leaving Kurt kicking him off. Desperate clothesline attempt gets Kurt locked in the Crossface, but he rolls back the momentum into a pin, which forces Benoit to break long enough for Kurt to reverse the hold. Chris makes the ropes, but the referee goes down in the process, and misses Angle tapping out to another Crossface. Benoit breaks to go revive him, but that allows Kurt to sneak up with the Angle Slam for a dramatic two count. Bodyslam sets up a flying moonsault, but Benoit lifts the knees to counter, and hits the flying headbutt for two. Another pinfall reversal sequence, and Kurt hooks the tights while cradling him for the pin at 14:02. Weak ending to an otherwise brilliant match - filled with flawless execution, transitions, and drama. The ending works in an 'Angle is frustrated and resorts to hooking the tights to beat the better man' way, but the execution felt extremely anticlimactic. *** ¾

WWF Women's Title Match: Ivory v Chyna: Chyna kayfabe broke her neck in a match with Ivory at the Royal Rumble, and this is her big return. Ivory jumps her with the title belt at the bell (taking a shot right at her neck), but Chyna brushes her off, and starts taking her apart with forearms in the corner. Series of clotheslines, and a backdrop set up the pussy-eating powerbomb, and ChynaWarrior press slams her to finish with an arrogant cover at 2:39. Thankfully quick, and to the point. Eight minutes of this would not have been appreciated - especially since neither is eye candy. DUD

Street Fight: Vince McMahon v Shane McMahon: Mick Foley acts as guest referee for the family squabble. Staredown ends in Vince slapping son Shane across the face, and beating him into the corner until Shane busts out a lariat. Spear allows Shane to unload, so Stephanie McMahon dives in to beg for mercy. No dice, however, as Shane baseball slides into a running Vince, and goes postal on him with a street sign. Singapore cane gets involved for Shane to beat dad with, and he lays Vince across the Spanish announce table for a flying elbowdrop - only to have Stephanie pull Vince out of the way at the last moment, and send Shane crashing through the table in a visually impressive bump. Meanwhile, Trish Status (playing Vince's mistress at this point) rolls a wheelchair bound Linda McMahon to ringside, but that triggers a catfight with Stephanie when Trish randomly slaps Vince to turn face. The best part is watching referee Foley stand there and watch them all - literally scratching his ass at one point. Shane and Vince keep playing dead through all of this, and Vince rises first - but goes after wheelie-Linda instead of Shane. He sets her up in the corner of the ring to make sure she doesn't miss him beating Shane with a trashcan, but she suddenly rises from her sedated state, and blows him low at center ring. WrestleMania PDA! That allows Shane to finish - laying Vince in one corner, and managing to blast him with a trashcan assisted flying dropkick from all the way in another corner at 14:12. Quite the finish, there. Fairly stiff match, too - this was either a very good form of therapy, or outright domestic violence depending on how you want to look at it. I liked this more live, but it doesn't hold up well - overbooked to death. * ½

WWF Tag Team Title Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match: The Dudley Boyz v The Hardy Boyz v Edge and Christian: This is no ones first rodeo, and they waste no time slugging it out - the Hardy's using their speed advantage to take down the Dudley's, as E&C fetch a ladder to clothesline everyone with. Edge makes the first climb attempt, but Matt Hardy pulls him off and tries his own climb - only for Edge to 2^nd rope clothesline him off. Edge up again, but this time Jeff Hardy is there with a dropkick to stop it, so Christian takes his turn - Matt pulling him down. The Hardy's hit him with a flying legdrop/flying splash combo off of two opposing ladders, but the Dudley's run in before they can capitalize - flying headbutting Edge's nuts. They bring a couple of tables with them, and Bubba Dudley powerbombs Jeff onto Edge and through a table. The Dudley's set up a four table pileup on the floor, but the Hardy's break it up before they can do anything, and suddenly we have three ladders standing at center ring, and six men climbing them. And then all six going flying off, of course. Edge recovers first to start climbing, but Spike Dudley runs out and Acid Drops him off of the ladder to break it up. Jeff Hardy gets the best of that exchange and starts to climb, but here's Rhyno to pull him off, and spear Matt through a table for good measure. He sets the ladder up for Edge to try again, and now Lita runs in to save for the Hardy's. Edge still climbs anyway, but it all backfires as Spike blasts Rhyno with a chair, and he ends up knocking Edge all the way to the floor off of it. E&C start wildly swinging chairs to clear the ring, as Jeff finds one of his patented supersized ladders on the outside, and Swanton Bombs Spike and Rhyno through a table. He's dead off of it, though, so Edge steals the ladder, and Christian races D-Von Dudley up - both men grabbing one of the belts - but Matt Hardy counters by pulling the rug out from under them, moving the ladder away, and leaving them dangling high above the ring. An American Gladiators-style showdown ends in both men crashing off, and Jeff climbs - but loses his grip on the ladder to leave him hanging - Edge diving off of the opposing super-ladder to spear him off. That leaves Matt and Bubba to try, but Rhyno recovers, and tips the supper-ladder over - satisfying Chekhov, and sending both crashing through the four table set up that never got used earlier. Everyone's dead now, but Rhyno earns his henchman pay - putting the limp Christian on his shoulders, and climbing him up the ladder for the titles at 15:41. Holy fuck - that was simply insane. Complete spotfest, but one of the best spotfests you will ever see - crazy, creative, and filled with goose bump inducing, iconic images. Though this is generally considered the best of their series (and probably had the craziest spots), it was derivative, and I liked WrestleMania 2000 a bit better - less overbooked, and more influential. *** ¾

19-Man Gimmick Battle Royal: The idea here is that all the WWF's gimmicks of days past battle it out for supremacy - a neat nod to history that almost never happened back then, as it was still the era of not acknowledging the past. We've got: Hillbilly Jim, Duke Droese, The Iron Sheik, The Bushwhackers, Doink, Nikolai Volkoff, Tugboat, The Goon, Earthquake, Brother Love, the Gobbledy Gooker, Michael Hayes, One Man Gang, Kamala, Kim Chee, Jim Cornette, Repo Man, and Sgt. Slaughter. As an added treat, Gene Okerlund and Bobby Heenan (both in good form, and looking the happiest they had in years) do guest commentary - their first appearance since 1993. The usual kick-punch battle royal, getting down to Slaughter, Sheik, Hillbilly Jim, and Brother Love in short order - Sheik winning it by last eliminating Hillbilly Jim at 3:03 - Sheik booked to go over as he was physically incapable of taking the over-the-top bump required for elimination. Total DUD, but this was a blast for a wrestling geek at the time, and is still quick and inoffensive fun - the perfectly booked interlude between the roller-coaster of TLC and Undertaker/HHH. DUD

The Undertaker v Triple H: Though it was never advertised as such, Shawn Michaels was originally penciled in to make his return against Undertaker here, but his substance abuse issues delayed his comeback for another year and a half - and almost ruined his friendship with HHH in the process. Motorhead play HHH out live, reminding me of Cheetum in the process - 'Play the game! Play the GAME!' We don’t even make it into the ring, starting with a slugfest on the floor, and Triple H casually going through the makeshift Spanish announce table (a little flimsy table they set up in place of the one Shane McMahon destroyed earlier). Inside, ‘Taker with a backdrop, and a cross corner clothesline. Powerslam, but the leaping elbowdrop fails. Criss cross, and Undertaker finds the mark with a jumping clothesline, and he goes for the ropewalk forearm next, but gets slammed off. HHH with a neckbreaker for two, and unloads closed fists. Swinging neckbreaker gets a series of two counts, so he grabs his sledgehammer from ringside, but the referee pulls it away before he can properly sledge. Pedigree instead, only to get countered - 'Taker tossing him with a slingshot right into the uppity referee. Chokeslam, and the referee actually recovers quickly enough to count two, so ‘Taker beats the piss out of him to show him how to properly sell a ref bump.  UT impressively dumps Hunter, and backdrops him into the crowd for a brawl over to the production area, and up various levels of scaffolding. HHH grabs a random chair and just unloads on poor ‘Taker, but gets caught, and chokeslammed off of the scaffold onto the arena floor. Actually, onto a big giant mattress, but it was visually impressive. ‘Taker follows him down with a flying elbowdrop, and they brawl back to the ring - where the referee is somehow STILL down. ‘Taker takes the opportunity to grab the sledgehammer himself, but he can’t get a move in on HHH, as Hunter gets in a well time low blow. Main event style slugfest won by HHH, and he goes for a tombstone, but gets reversed, only there’s no referee to count. That allows Undertaker his Last Ride powerbomb, but Triple H counters it mid-air with a sledgehammer shot for two - though the referee should be a vegetable at this point, and in no way should he be trusted with officiating any sort of sporting event. HHH into the corner with a ten-punch count, but ‘Taker pulls him off into the Last Ride and gets the pin at 18:17. Well paced, hard hitting stuff here - living up to the considerable hype. ***

Main Event: No Disqualification WWF Title Match: The Rock v Steve Austin: Austin gets him into a slugfest before the bell even has a chance to ring, and catches him with a Thesz Press out of the ropes. Into the ropes, Rock goes for the Rock Bottom, but Austin counters, and sends him flying over the top. Rocky tries to get him onto a table out there, but Steve counters the whip with a short-clothesline, and back inside they go for Austin to stomp him. Superplex gets two, so Austin tears off the turnbuckle pad - only to get caught with a clothesline from the champ before he can use it. Belly-to-belly suplex gets two, and another clothesline sends Austin tumbling out to the floor. Rock corners him, but cornering a rattlesnake is never wise, and Austin leaps out at him with the ring bell in hand to bust the champion open. Inside, Austin beats the dazed champion from end to end of the ring with closed fists, and goes for the exposed buckle, but Rock counters - only to get caught in a swinging neckbreaker for his troubles. Austin mounts him with punches and stomps a mud hole, but this time it's the Rock who lunges at him - leveling him with a lariat. Ram into the exposed buckle busts him open, too, and Rock blasts him with the ring bell for good measure - getting two. Now it's Rocky's turn to hammer on his dazed, bloody opponent - Austin stumbling from post to post trying to maintain a vertical base. To the floor, Rock tries to finish him with rams into the rail, but Austin counters with a well executed slingshot into the post - Rock bouncing off of it like a rubber ball. Steve wallops him with one of the monitors for good measure, and rolls him in for two. Stunner, but Rock counters into a Sharpshooter - and once again it's WrestleMania with Austin a bloody mess and trying to power out of the Sharpshooter. He can't, and makes the ropes, so Rock tries again - but Steve rakes the eyes, and reverses into a Sharpshooter of his own. He can't get it on all the way, though, and Rock powers out - so Steve starts hammering the knee. Another Sharpshooter, but the champ makes the ropes - only for Austin to refuse to break since it's no DQ. He finally lets him out, only to lock on the Million Dollar Dream at center ring as the champ struggles to his feet, so Rock runs the ropes for two. Austin doesn't know what more he needs to do to him, so he starts firing off closed fists in desperation, only to have Rock return fire with a Stunner for two. That draws out Vince McMahon, as Rock walks into a spinebuster from Austin for two. Criss cross allows Rock one of his own to set up the People's Elbow for two, when McMahon breaks the count. Rock goes after him, but a chase leads him right into a Rock Bottom from Austin for a dramatic two count. Stunner, but Rock blocks, so Austin blows him low to shut him up. He calls McMahon into the ring with a chair to put an exclamation point on it, and he blasts Rock with it to give Austin two. Steve grabs the chair himself, but Rock counters his swing with a Rock Bottom - only to get distracted by McMahon on the apron, and Stunned for another dramatic two count. Austin is shocked, so Vince passes him the chair, and he nearly takes Rock's head off - still only getting two. If Steve was shocked before, he's just plain scared now, and he reacts the way anyone would: beats Rock near to death with some twenty chair shots until he's a pile of goo that he can cover for the title at 28:05. Afterwards, Austin shakes McMahon's hand to hammer home the heel turn, but the crowd is understandably confused, and thinks Vince has turned face - cheering them on, and just waiting for Austin to stun McMahon. It never comes, as instead they share a beer and beat the Rock down. That remains one of the most infamous and ill-advised heel turns in history, as the turn itself wasn't bad in theory, but the execution fell way short - no one wanting to see Steve Austin turn during the main event of WrestleMania, and the crowd in outright denial of it. The match itself has reached legendary status over the years, and understandably, as it was one of the biggest main events of the era - and effectively the last. The crowd was on fire throughout - it was almost one long, sustained pop for a half an hour, and they were absolutely on the edge of their seats when the finishers/dramatic two count sequences started. Obviously, a lot of the excitement was in the moment, but years later, it still holds up - filled with great psychology like Rock trying stuff Austin has lost to before (Sharpshooter, the run the ropes counter to the Dream), and Steve going deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole to the dark side as the match progressed. *** ¼

BUExperience: And so the Attitude Era ended – not with a whimper, but with a bang. Considered by many to be the greatest WrestleMania of all time (and even the greatest pay per view) it certainly makes a strong case – solid stuff from top to bottom, and the weaker stuff kept short, and booked during appropriate parts of the show. Something for everyone – from big spot fests (TLC), brawling (McMahon street fight, Hardcore title match), pure wrestling (Jericho/Regal, Benoit/Angle), and epic booking (Undertaker/HHH, Rock/Austin) – with a big stadium atmosphere to put the cherry on top.

While I still consider WrestleMania X to be superior overall, X-7’s card is stronger top to bottom (there’s no negative star Yokozuna match here), with tons of historical value to boot – easily one of the best WrestleManias. *****